Dr. Effie Jean Fields' Research

BY:  Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson
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I was delighted to meet Dr. Effie Jean Fields around July of 2014, while she was working and living in Randolph County.   When I met her, she was teaching English at Southern Union State Community College, while at the same time, working on her doctoral dissertation in education at The University Of Alabama.   Dr. Fields' 323 Page Dissertation is entitled:  RACE, LAW, & LITERACY:  A CASE STUDY REVEALING THE VOICES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS OF THE RANDOLPH COUNTY DESEGREGATION PROCESS.    She remained in this area for the duration while working on her research.... probably over four (4) years.   Her dissertation would ultimately focus on desegregation in education in this community.   The method she used to complete her research included personal interviews with many -- if not most --  of the former students who were involved in the desegregation process in this local community.    So, when she called to ask if I would speak to her, I was really very excited to do so.  

Over the years, I had been very reluctant to speak to anyone at all about my experiences during that time.  And in instances when I did choose to speak to others about it, I had been very discriminating about who I spoke to.   Admittedly, it can be very difficult to talk about or a better word might be "awkward" depending on who you're talking to.  

Dr. Fields' abstract  begins with the statement:  "The purpose of this study is to give voice to African Americans who were students in Randolph County during the desegregation of its schools"

For me, that is exactly what the interview did -- because it not only involved a retelling of the facts, but it also involved a purging of the pent-up emotions that resulted from the experience, that I was unable to discuss with anyone else and therefore had carried with me ever since.

By the time I finally met with Dr. Fields in July of 2014, she had already spoken to several other people.  I don't doubt that by the time she met with me, I probably talked longer, and gave her more information than she ever intended to collect from me.   I had the opportunity to fellowship with her on numerous occasions.   She literally became part of our community during the time she was living in this area and meeting with her participants.   I felt that she really connected with the community and got to know a lot of the people here, and came to understand what drives our community on a much deeper level.

I asked her if I could read her dissertation when completed.  She promised me a copy.  Dr. Fields kept her promise, and emailed me her dissertation.    Once I got it (probably more than a year afterward), I read -- read -- and re-read.   It brought me to tears. 

One of the most poignant revelations came to me as I read through the interviews, after all these years -- nearly 50 years, most -- if not all -- of the students still remembered my father --  Wilkie Clark -- being a supportive person in the community who they always felt they could go to and talk to about whatever problems they were having in their new school situation.

I myself talked extensively to Dr. Fields about my father's role in the desegregation era, but what was mind-boggling was to read what other students had to say about him. 

Below, I have merely extracted some of the comments that appear throughout Dr. Field's dissertation with respect to both Wilkie Clark and Hattie P. Clark:
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Page 112:  Juanita Wright interview  (References to Wilkie Clark as a confidant and advisor)
"She was informed of the transfer through Mr. Wilkie Clark, the father of one of her friends, Charlotte Clark. She identified Mr. Clark as always concerned about the future of the Black children of Randolph County. Not only did he discuss current events with those who visited his home, he would also inquire about their future educational plans. Mrs. Wright remembered Mr. Clark being particularly upset when she identified that she planned to go away to school and move out of the community. Mrs. Wright stated that Mr. Clark believed “that if you went away and got an education, then you needed to come back and put something back into the community” (JW lines 46-48)."
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Page 114:  Mrs. Kathy Pate Interview
"Mrs. Pate identified that no measures were taken to prepare her for the transfer. She identified one outspoken community leader, Mr. Wilkie Clark, who would contact the school board and superintendent to make sure that the students were being treated fairly."
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Page 115:  Kathy Pate Interview:   (Reference to daddy as a Civil Rights Leader)
"Mrs. Pate also encouraged me to interview Charlotte Clark Frieson. It was emphasized that Ms. Clark-Frieson would be a great participant because she was the daughter of Wilkie Clark, one of the most prominent Civil Rights Leaders in the area during the time period. The names of both of these participants were constantly suggested throughout the interview process, and I did get an opportunity to meet with each of them."
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Page 129:  Dr. Alvin Thornton Interview
"Furthermore, Dr. Thornton alluded to an essay entitled “Behind These Walls” by one of the teachers, Mrs. Hattie P. Clark. The essay not only identified a concern about what would happen to the students, there was also a concern of what would happen to the community without RCTS as its core institution."
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Page 131:  Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson Interview
"During each of my interviews and throughout the process of researching historical documents, everyone encouraged me to seek out Mrs. Frieson. Mrs. Frieson’s father, Wilkie Clark, had been identified as the strongest civil rights leaders of Randolph County. I received a clearer image of how legendary Mr. Clark was when I attended a black history program in Roanoke, Alabama. The guest speaker, a long time civil rights activist of the community, constantly alluded to situations in which Wilkie Clark had stood up to the White community of Randolph County."
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Page 149:  Dr. Alvin Thonrnton
"There was also my cousin Hattie Peters Clark, a RCTS teacher who visited our home long before I began school at RCTS. My schooling at RCTS was a continuation of my church and community experiences, it was not the beginning of my teacher connected education and cultural development (AT, lines 71-81)."
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Page 172:  Linda Chapman Felton Interview
"Mrs. Hattie Clark-she was a teacher. You got a lot of history with her."
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Page 166:  Charlotte Clark-Frieson interview
“My father was one of the Black education advocates when all Black families valued education. They promoted it. They pursued it. They wanted their children to have it. They were active participants in the education process UNTIL Brown v. Board” (CF, lines 5-8). Many participants felt that the fervor associated with The Black community’s dedication no longer existed because they no longer had “their” school, but rather became a part of someone else’s school."
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Page 175: Charlotte Clark-Frieson Interview
"My daddy was the president of the NAACP. It looked bad for certain ones to be going and your child is not going-especially if you are a proponent of intergration.  As NAACP president and because it was the NAACP that sponsored this big litigation. They had gone to the Supreme Court and had won, and y’all are trying to enforce it. If your child doesn’t go, who’s going to listen to you? That was his thing. I became the sacrificial lamb. (CF, lines 118-122)."
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Page 180-181:  Juanita Wright Interview
"Mrs. Frieson may have been unaware of the incidents of previous students because she was an only child and had no one who shared their experiences with her. Furthermore, Mrs. Frieson’s father was focused on the goal of desegregating Randolph County Schools. Mrs. Juanita Wright, who was a friend of Mrs. Frieson, remembered how determined Mr. Clark was to desegregate the school system. According to Mrs. Wright, When I think back to those days I can remember one of the community leaders, Mr. Wilkie Clark, who was a focal point in bringing this about. He felt that we needed the same advantages that the other children had at the other schools. He was really a fighter and a motivator. He felt that if our children were in the same setting that we would have the same advantages and opportunities that those children had. (J.W. lines 36-40)."
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Page 194:   Charlotte Clark Frieson Interview  (Parental Support)
"Mrs. Frieson’s father was one of the strongest Civil Rights leaders in Randolph County; she did not feel that she had parental support during her initial years at Handley High School. The only support she acknowledged receiving was encouragement from her mother at home. She stated that her parents never went to the school to confront the teachers or administration concerning the manner in which she was treated. According to Mrs. Frieson,
My mama was a teacher and she felt like that if they went out there and raised all that hell she would lose her job. She was always worried about job security. They felt that if they could just get me out of school. The whole goal was just get Charlotte out of school. My mother would say to him I don’t want you going over there and raising hell and stirring up them white folks and they take it out on her. (crying) I had to take so much. (CF, lines 269-273)."
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Page 224:  Common Thread through all participant responses
"During my research, many participants alluded to a letter that was written by Mrs. Hattie P. Clark, a former teacher, as to the loss the community was suffering due to the closing of Randolph County Training School. I was able to acquire a copy of the letter from one of the class reunion booklets located in the public library.  Mrs. Clark wrote the following document to illustrate the legacy of Randolph County Training School..."
Adapted from Mrs. Hattie P. Clark's Letter To The Editor (The Randolph Leader)
and by the RCTS Scholarship Foundation and entitled "Behind These Silent Walls"
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CONCLUSION:    Even at this stage in my life, it still never cease's to amaze me to realize how widespread my parents' influence reached across this community.   They were indeed "influencers" of that day.   Black citizens in our community really trusted and believed in their perspectives whenever it came to the state of Black civil rights and issues involving our collective progress.  And obviously, they cherished that trust and worked hard to earn it partly through their continued activism in the community.   Agreeing to participate in Dr. Effie Field's dissertation research not only gave voice to much of the emotional pain I have carried within me as a result of my experiences during the desegregation of the schools here, but it also served to validate my own beliefs, feelings, and perceptions about what we all went through during that era.

There are no words to express the deep appreciation I have for the work that Dr. Effie Fields did through her research, for it translated into a "first" for those of us who went through it.  It was the first time, anyone took the time to talk to us in an effort to learn what it was like to endure the abuse and hatred we endured for the sake of desegregation.  It was the first time anybody took the time to write it down, so that our collective story would exist in a permanent format somewhere in the archives of this little corner of the world.
REFERENCE
Fields, Effie Jean (2017-03-01).  Race, law, & literacy: a case study revealing the voices of African   
            American  students of the Randolph County desegregation process from 1965 to     1975 (Doctoral dissertation, 
            University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA). Retrieved from https://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/2617